


as you wish

by Witchtower



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character mostly Death, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First fic so please be nice, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Better tho!, Leopika supremacy, Light Angst, M/M, Princess Bride AU, kurapika is a feistier buttercup, leorio is a bumbling but surprisingly competent Wesley, torture (not too descriptive)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchtower/pseuds/Witchtower
Summary: "There was definitely a playfulness in his voice, but more than that there was a sort of softness, endearment even. As Kurapika walked back to the house he dawned on the realization that when Leorio was saying “as you wish”, he really meant, “I love you”. He felt his cheeks burn"A Leopika Princess Bride Au.
Relationships: Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 35
Kudos: 48





	1. oh farm boy!

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic so please be nice! however comments and critiques are definitely welcome.

Kurapika loved to ride his horse every morning. Not only was it a chance to explore the woods near his family's farm, but it also gave him the opportunity to tease the family farm hand, a young man by the name of Leorio. Or, as Kurapika liked to call him, farm boy. Nothing gave Kurapika as much pleasure as ordering Leorio around.

“Farm boy”, called Kurapika, “Polish my horse’s saddle. I want to see my face shining in it in the morning”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” grumbled Leorio, waving his hand in dismissal, his back turned away from Kurapika.

“What was that? I don’t think I heard you properly” said Kurapika as he raised his eyebrows, eyes daring the young farm hand to say that again.

Leorio sighed, he didn’t have time today for their usual back and forth, even though he secretly enjoyed it. He turned around to face Kurapika with a playful smile on his lips.

“I said, as you wish, sunshine” he winked.

Oh. OH. that was different. Kurapika was expecting some sort of retort. A “go shine it yourself” or “stop calling me farm boy” or something. But this, THIS, was new. It did things to his stomach that he couldn’t quite explain.

“W-well, good then!” Oh god was he blushing? “ I will see you in the morning!”

Kurapika quickly turned around before Leorio could even process the pink that dusted his cheeks.

Well, though Leorio, that was new. I’ll have to keep that in mind…

And from that point on, “as you wish” was Leorio’s go to response to any request. He’d add in a “sunshine”or a “sweetheart” here and there, but it seemed to be the “as you wish” that perplexed Kurapika so. It didn’t stop Kurapika from ordering him around though.

“Farm boy!” called out Kurapika as he carried two large buckets “fill these with water…” 

He rounded the corner of the woodshed expecting to find Leorio taking his usual afternoon nap. Instead he found him cutting wood. Shirtless. Kurapika knew that Leorio was strong, he had seen him perform various laborious tasks around the farm, but he never considered the results it would have on his, er, figure. Leorio was well built. He had big, broad shoulders and well toned arms. He had dark hair on his forearms and on his chest. There was also a trail of hair that went down the center of his abdomen and tantalizingly disappeared under his pants, which hung dangerously low.  
Kurapika dropped the buckets, very flustered. Leorio looked up from his chores at the sound of the metal buckets clanging as they hit the ground. Instead of seeing where the noise was coming from, something hit his face, blocking his vision. Confused, he grabbed at the object covering his face, and realized it was his shirt. He looked to see who had thrown it to him, only to find kurapika with his back turned and arms crossed.

Kurapika cleared his throat, “A-as i was saying, fill these buckets with water...“ he spared a glance at Leorio and quickly looked back, heat absolutely consuming his face “please… and for god’s sake put a shirt on! At least try to be decent”

Leorio grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun.

“I'm sorry what was that?” said Leorio with an absolutely shit-eating grin

Kurapika turned around, his voice gaining volume as he spoke “i said, put your shirt on you absolute-”

“No i got that part, what was it you said before that”

Kurapika was stunned. The absolute gaul of this man.

“ I am not repeating myself, you heard what I said. If not you need to get your hearing checked” he snapped. He definitely sounded angry, at the very least annoyed, but his cheeks betrayed the utter embarrassment he was feeling. What was wrong with him today?

Leorio laughed as he put his shirt back on. “alright, alright. as you wish ”

There was definitely a playfulness in his voice, but more than that there was a sort of softness, endearment even. As Kurapika walked back to the house he dawned on the realization that when Leorio was saying “as you wish”, he really meant, “I love you”. He felt his cheeks burn.

He came to an even bigger realization the next day, when he realized that he truly loved him back. Leorio was entering the house with a stack of freshly chopped firewood. As he was leaving Kurapika blurted out “Farm boy.” 

Leorio turned around. “Yes, Kurapika?”

“Um, fetch me that pitcher?” 

a question instead of a demand, Leorio was definitely not used to that. He glanced at the pitcher, he glanced at Kurapika. It was easily within his reach. Then why...why was Kurapika demanding, no, asking, for the pitcher? And why did he seem so nervous? The Kurapika he knew was headstrong, confident, unafraid to say what was on his mind. Who was this shy man before him? The pieces slowly began to come together, then he saw the blush on Kurapika’s cheeks and suddenly it all clicked. oh. Oh. He slowly stepped forward until he was mere inches away from Kurapika. He reached for the pitcher, never once breaking eye contact. He handed him the pitcher.

“As you wish” he murmured

Kurapika sets down the pitcher, very much still locked in eye contact with Leorio

“Thank you” he whispers. 

They are even closer than before. They both seem to be holding their breath, afraid to break the moment. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife, but as soon as it came, it went, because Leorio broke eye contact to glance at Kurapika’s lips, and that’s all Kurapika needed to justify yanking Leorio down by his shirt collar and kissing the ever loving hell out of him.  
It wasn’t a good kiss, far from it. Teeth clacked together and their lips were totally misaligned, but it was their first kiss, and that's what made it good. Leorio wrapped his arms around Kurapika’s waist Kurapika had his arms around Leorio’s neck. They quickly broke apart after that, arms still wrapped around one another, heads pressed together. They looked each other in the eyes, and Kurapika began to laugh quietly. Leorio joined in with a chuckle.

“Eager are we?”

Kurapika rolled his eyes and smiled “oh shut up” but there was no heat behind the insult.

Leorio softly smiled, “as you wish” and dove in for a second kiss.

This kiss was softer, but just as intense. Leorio tried to put in all his feelings for Kurapika into that kiss. How he felt when he first met him, how he was absolutely stunned by the blond’s soft and beautiful features and even more stunned by his sharp and pretty mouth. How after one argument and two death threats later, he was head over heels in love. How he fell even more in love when he heard Kurapika laugh for the first time at one of his jokes, and how he was completely smitten by the time Leorio first made him blush. All of that emotion, all of that love, was packed into one soft, sweet, kiss and Kurapika absolutely melted into it. This kiss was a promise of kisses to come. Of a future together.  
But to have that future money was needed. Despite his job as a farm hand, Leorio had no money for marriage. So he packed his few belongings and left the farm to seek his fortune across the sea. It was a very emotional time for Kurapika. Before he left, the young couple shared a bittersweet goodbye.

“I fear I'll never see you again” whispers Kurapika as he tightly embraces his lover.

“Of course you will” Leorio whispers back  
“But what if something happens to you?”

“I will come for you”.

“But how can you be sure?”

kurapika looks up from their embrace. Tears now sting the corner of his eyes. Leorio smiles as he strokes the blond’s cheek, wiping away tears in the process. 

“This is true love. You think this happens every day?”

But Leorio didn't reach his destination. His ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who never left captives alive. When Kurapika caught wind of his fiance's fate, he went into his room, locked the door, and mourned. For days he neither slept nor ate. He was totally, and utterly, devastated.


	2. a morning ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our prince humperdink is introduced, as well as this au's version of Fezzik, Inego, and Vizzinni! can you guess who is who?

Five years later, a man of incredible power and bearing stands from his castle balcony. Below him a crowd is gathered. Soft murmurs echo as they bounce off the wall of the town square. The man raises hand as a gesture for the curious crowd below to be silent. The once bustling and busy town square and market goes immediately silent. No one disregards an order from Prince Chrollo.

“My people” Chrollo begins “a month from now, our country will have its 500th anniversary. On that sundown, I shall marry a man who was once a commoner like yourselves” 

Chrollo pauses. He can feel the entire population of Florin holds its breath. To have command and to hold power over so many people is nothing other than delicious. He continues.

“but perhaps you will not find him common now. Would you like to meet him?”

A giant staircase leading to the crowd and as a figure just begins to become visible. From the shadows a figure with a halo of golden hair emerges. His eyes are as grey and cold as steel. He wears a white gown with golden lace outlining the bodice. It is Kurapika. And he is resplendent.

“My people...i present to you, Prince Kurapika!”

Murmurs and gasps erupted from the crowd. Prince Chrollo was right, there was nothing common about the figure standing before them. Rumors about the young prince's fiance were right. The young man could have very well been a descendant of Aphrodite. However, there was something more striking than his beauty. It was his eyes. Yes they were beautiful, but more than that they were distant, out of focus, as if an emptiness had consumed them.

Kurapika was resigned to his engagement. At first he had put up a fight, refusing the mountain of gifts and letters that showed up daily at his doorstep. However, the law was not on his side. Chrollo had the right to choose his bride; consent was not necessary. Upon their engagement, Kurapika made it very clear that he would never love Chrollo, despite the prince's promises that he would learn to love him. The young prince sighed, took his fiance's hands in his, looked into his eyes and said “as you wish”.

It took every ounce of control Kurapika had and several armed guards to stop him from tearing out Chrollo’s vocal chords. 

“Don't you, ever, EVER, speak that phrase to me again” spit Kurapika, his once steely grey eyes were now a fiery and volatile red. Interesting. This was the most emotion Chrollo had ever seen from his young fiance. He simply smiled.

“Of course, anything for you my dear”

The only solace kurapika found was in his daily rides through the countryside. It reminded him of a simpler time. And every day when he saw his face shining in his saddle, he thought of Leorio.

One morning kurapika decided to explore the local wilderness that bordered the countryside that he daily roamed. He had gone farther than he ever had before. The castle was out of sight and he hadnt spotted anyone in at least a mile. Finally, some solitude.

“Excuse me, sir”

Or at least, so he thought.

Kurapika whipped his head towards the sound of the voice. He saw a tall man with long black hair. His skin was almost sickly pale. His stare was blank and his eyes were like a dead fish’s. He almost looked like a porcelain doll.

“We are but poor, lost circus performers. Is there a village nearby?”

as the man spoke, he gestures to two smaller figures. Young men, probably not much older than 15. One of the young men was dressed in all green and was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. He had dark, spiked hair and a warm smile. Standing next to him was another young boy, one that looked to be the same age. He had a large tuft of white hair and a bored look that said he would rather be somewhere else. They were an, uh, interesting group to look at.

Kurapika eye’d them suspiciously

“...Why no sirs...there's nothing nearby for miles”

The man with the fish eyes clapped his hands together.

“Perfect!” he said in a monotonous tone, “then nobody will be able to hear you scream. Gon, if you would be so kind?”

“Wha-” before Kurapika could react, the boy in green disappeared. The very next moment, he heard a voice come from behind him.

“Sorry about this sir” and then everything went black.

“Alright, now that that's taken care of” the tall man ripped off a piece of fabric from a jacket.

“Illumi, what are you ripping?” asked the white haired boy.

“Well, Killua, if you had paid any attention earlier, you would understand that I am trying to fraim Guilder for the kidnapping of the young prince-to-be” as Ilumi says this, he attaches the fabric to the horses saddle and slaps the animals behind “now off you go”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” mumbles Killua, still wearing the look of disinterest he had earlier.

“Who’s Guilder?” innocently asks Gon

“The country across the sea. The sworn enemy of Florin, really boys you must pay more attention. Now, Once the horse reaches the castle, the fabric will make the Prince suspect the Guilderians have abducted his love. When he finds his body dead on the Guilder frontier, his suspicions will be totally confirmed.”

“Now wait a minute! You never said anything about killing anyone” Gon was now very cross, this isn’t what he signed up for.

“I've hired you to help me start a war.” answers illumi, his face still placid and his voice still an eerie calm “That's a prestigious line of work with a long and glorious tradition. What did you think was going to happen?”

Okay, so maybe so this is what Gon signed up for. That doesn't mean he has to like it though!

“I just don't think it's right, killing an innocent man” muttered Gon

“Oh really? Excuse me but I just believe I heard the word “think” escape from your lips. Do you want to return to how things were before you met me and Killua? Friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless -- Do you want me to send you back to where you were, unemployed on Whale Island?” Illumi’s voice was as tranquil as ever, but Killua could tell there was a slight edge to it. 

Hmm, eh, might as well get on his brother’s nerves.

“I agree with Gon”

“Oh. Have you suddenly found your moral compass, Killua? Or have you already forgotten that you are one of the most proficient and well trained assassins this side of the continent? I'm sure your victims are pleased to hear tha-”

“Alright, alright! I get the point, geez” interrupted Killua. He made a mental note to not poke the bear. He was however, slightly pleased that he was able to get some sort of rise out of his emotionally constipated brother.

The trip to their ship was mostly silent after that. Kurapika was bound and gagged, as to make sure that he couldn’t escape, and Killua and Gon were having fun playing a rhyming game.

“You know”, began Killua, “ illumi sure can be a fuss”

“Fuss..fuss…” Gon pondered for a bit, “Oh, I know! He sure likes to yell at us!”

“Ha! Good one. He probably means no harm”

“Yeah, but he sure is short on charm!” Gon stifled a giggle as he said that one.

“I can hear you, you know” cut in Illumi.

“ I guess you could say I’m a rhyming pro!”

“No more rhymes now, I mean it”

“Anybody want a peanut?”

“I said stop!”


	3. a midnight swim

A sailboat races across dark waters. Gon has grown tired of the rhyming game and resigned himself to playing with a yoyo. Despite the relatively dark situation he has found himself in, Gon has always had a sunny disposition. He was even able to strike up a conversation with the prisoner.

“Hi! I’m Gon” greeted Gon after Kurapika woke up.

“Hello?” responded Kurapika, more confused than anything and still recovering from the blow to the head he had received earlier.

“How are you?”

Kurapika rolled his eyes, “could be better.”

Gon winced, “yeah...sorry about that. Orders are orders you know. But don't worry,” Gon then leaned in and whispered into Kurapika’s ear conspiratorially, “I won't let Illumi kill you, i’ve already talked to Killua about it and he agrees. He says an attempted kidnapping should be more than enough reason for Prince Chrollo to start a war with Guildar. Also he said killing you would just be a waste of time”

“...Thank you?” Kurapika was now genuinely confused. He hadn’t expected his kidnappers to be so...nice? Was that the right word?

“Speaking of Prince Chrollo, why’d you choose him? Besides the whole, prince thing.”

At this Kurapika scowled, “who said I had a choice.”

“Oh.” Gon’s smile fell, “I-im sorry, i just thought, well...aunt Mito says people usually get married because they love each other…”

“ yeah well, when the person you love dies, you don’t really get the chance to do that” snapped Kurapika. 

Gon got really quiet after that. “ i'm sorry. I didn't mean-I just...i’m sorry for your loss”

Kurapika sighed, “it's alright...Gon was it? I know you meant well. Marriage is a...touchy subject for me”

“No it’s alright, I get it. Would you mind if I…asked you some questions about...love? if you're comfortable with that I mean. Like, how did you know you were in love?”

“Well Gon,” begins Kurapika, “it’s hard to explain...it just sort of hits you? Then after that you can’t stop thinking about them and every little thing they do, down to the way they smile or the sound of their laugh. they make your brain go to mush and you lose your train of thought for the rest of your day because, well, you just can’t stop thinking about them. Does that answer your question?”

Gon smiled, and it almost blinded kurapika. For a kidnapper this kid sure was a ray of sunshine. 

“actually, yeah, it does! It clears a lot of things up actually…”

Now this piqued Kurapika’s curiosity. “Oh? May I ask how? Do you have someone in mind-”

“N-n-no! I-i mean yes! I mean-” Gon groaned and let his face fall into his hands, “ugh, I don’t know what I mean.”

Kurapika cracked a smile at the boy's attempt to cover his blush. “Don’t worry Gon, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You seem like a sweet kid”

“Could you two keep it down over there?!” interrupted an unusually high strung Killua. The sun had already set, but Kurapika could still make out the young assassins darkened cheeks. Was he listening in on their conversation? Kurapika glanced back at Gon, whose blush was even darker than before. Huh. so that’s what was going on. Kurapika smiled bittersweetly. He couldn't help but compare the boy’s situation to his and Leorio’s.

“Sorry about that” apologized Gon as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s fine, just try to stay quiet” grumbled Killua. He looked over his shoulder as he said this. He was clearly distracted by something.

“Say, Killua, whatcha lookin at?” asked Gon, who had noticed his friend’s strange behavior. 

“Oh it’s nothing, just making sure we aren’t being followed.” Killua looked over his shoulder again.

“That would be inconceivable.” Illumi said as he waved his hand in dismissal.

“You sure about that?” Killua's head was still turned towards the horizon behind him.

“As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways, inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we've done. And no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast.” Illumi paused, “Out of curiosity, why do you ask?”

“Oh no reason,” Killua shrugged “I just looked behind us and I saw something”

The rest of the crew turned towards the back of the ship. Sure enough, the outline of a small sailboat can be seen in the moonlight.

“Ah. that could pose a problem.”

“Perhaps it's a local fisherman going on a pleasure cruise...through...eel-infested...waters…” Gon’s voice became more unsure as he continued the sentence. He cringed. Even he had to admit that that sounded unlikely at best. A splash interrupts his train of thought. The trio whips their heads around. Their prisoner is gone.

Splashing can be heard from the right side of the boat. Killua and Gon quickly rush over. From over the ledge they see that Prince Kurapika has made a break for it, and has started to swim away.

“Come on boys, after him.” Illumi gestured towards the escaping prince.

“I, uh, can’t swim” sweated Gon. he was clearly lying.

“ I can only doggy paddle” shrugged Killua. Unlike Gon, Killua was unfortunately not telling the truth. 

Illumi shaked his head and sighed “i guess we will just have to veer right then” 

Still close to the boat, Kurapika switched from a crawl to a silent breaststroke. The wind dies and as it does, something new is heard. A not-too-distant high-pitched shrieking sound.  
He stops suddenly, treads water.

“Ah your highness, it seems that you have caught the shrieking eels attention” Illumi called to Kurapika, “ do you know why they are called the shrieking eels? It’s because when they are about to feed, they emit a high pitched sound not unlike a human screeching for mercy. Did you know they grow louder as they are about to feed on human flesh?”

Kurapika is now treading water, petrified. In the distance he can see something swim towards his direction.

“If you swim back now,” Illumi continued, “I promise no harm will come to you.”

The shrieking sound is louder still, but Kurapika doesn't make a sound. Behind him now,  
something dark and gigantic slithers past. A shrieking eel has zeroed in on him. Kurapika refuses to reply.

“Well, your highness, I’m waiting”

And now he sees it, a short distance away, circling, starting to close in. Kurapika is frozen, trying not to make a movement of any kind. The Eel slithers closer and closer. Kurapika knows it now, there's nothing he can do. it's over. 

The eel opens its mouth wide. it's never made such a noise. As its great jaws are about to clamp down, an arm appears out of nowhere, pulling Kurapika out of the freezing waters before the giant eel can clamp its mouth. 

Kurapika is now back on the boat, shivering from the cold and his fear. 

“Are you alright Kurapika?!” a concerned Gon is now hovering over Kurapika’s quivering form. But before Gon can do anything to comfort his frightened friend, he is shoved out of the way by Illumi. He pulls Kurapika up by his collar, the blond's feet can barely touch the ground.

“I suppose you think you’re brave, don’t you?” growls Illumi. His face is as disinterested as ever. however, an aura of rage seemed to spill out from him into the atmosphere.

“Only compared to some.” scowls Kurapika.

Illumi drops him to the ground and Kurapika slumps against the side of the boat.

“Tie him up tighter this time, if you could be so kind boys” Illumi turns his back away from the young prince and walks away, clearly done trying to prove whatever point he was making.

Killua rolls his eyes, “Whatever you say boss” and as he goes to tie Kurapika’s wrists, he gives the blond a conspiratorial wink. Once he is done, Kurapika tests the rope. Its tight, but loose enough that if Kurapika could reach one of the ends of the rope he could undo the knot and free himself easily. Killua looks towards the back of the ship. It is now dawn and the outline of the ship he saw earlier that night had now become much bigger. Killua swore he could almost make out a figure at the helm. He passes that information to his brother. 

“By the way Illumi, that sailboat is right on top of us”

“No matter” says illumi, who by now has returned to his placid state, “whoever he is, he is too late, see?” 

he points to the near distance. 

“the cliffs of insanity”


	4. A duel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! had some writers block at first but after I got over it I had a bunch of fun writing this. Hope you enjoy!

Illumi's ship landed at an outcropping at the very base of the cliff. The cliffs are a dizzying height. Just looking up at them would give the average man vertigo. As Illumi prepared to throw the rope, he looked over his shoulder. The other ship must have been blessed with a favorable wind, because it is closing in on them at an incredible speed. 

“We must move quickly. We cannot be seen with the prince. Gon, you carry him. Killua and I will follow behind” directed Illumi.

Gon nodded his head “gotcha.” he turned to Kurapika , “you ready? You’re going to have to hold on tight”

Kurapika bit back a sarcastic remark. Gon was a good kid. He also had to remember that Gon and the white haired boy were planning on helping him escape. He sighed.

“Ready as I’ll ever be” Kurapika replied.

They began to climb. Despite his petite stature, Gon was surprisingly strong, he climbed the rope with ease, seemingly undisturbed by Kurapika’s weight. Despite himself, Kurapika was impressed. As he stated before, Illumi and Killua followed closely behind. As they reached the halfway point, Killua felt a tug on the rope. He looked down. He couldn’t believe it. The man from the sailboat had begun to climb the rope.

“Uh Illumi? The man from the boat is climbing the rope.” Killua looked down again “Huh. He’s gaining on us”

“Inconceivable” muttered Illumi, his breathing staggering as he climbed. “We’ll just have to go faster. Gon, Pick up the pace.”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” shouted Gon. “You guys got it easy, you aren’t carrying another person.” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” questioned Illumi, in a low tone that conveyed the danger of repeating what he had said.

“N-nothing! I'll try to climb faster!”, and he did indeed climb faster. Gon had never seen Illumi mad. Maybe disgruntled, but never mad. Today was not going to be the day that he did.

By the time they had reached the top, the man from the boat was nearly on top of them. Illumi took out a knife and began to cut through the rope. The man is but a hundred feet away from the top. A chord breaks. He’s fifty feet away. Another chord breaks. Then another. Then another. He’s nearly to the top. The final chord snaps, unable to carry the man's weight any longer. Everyone collectively holds their breath. 

The trio look over the edge.

Killua whistled “old man’s got some good arms”

Sure enough, suspended hundreds of feet in the air, the man is hanging on to the cliffside for dear life. 

Illumi furrowed his brow “ he didn't fall? Inconceivable”

“You know” began killua, “you keep using that word...i don't think it means what you think it means”

Illumi narrowed his eyes at his brother. 

KIllua rolled his eyes, and looked down again.

“Huh. he sure is determined,” he said. Killua wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he was impressed at the man's determination.

“Whoever he is, he's obviously seen us with the Princess, and must therefore die. Catch up when he's dead. If he falls, fine. If not, the sword” illumi then yanked Kurapika off Gon’s back. “do not fail”

“Yeah, yeah, I got you. Just so you know i’m going to duel him left handed” killua rested his hand on his sword.

“You know what a hurry we're in” sighed Illumi

“Well, it's the only way I can be satisfied. If I use my right” Killua grinned, “it’ll be over too quickly”

“Hmph. have it your way” Illumi turned around and walked away, his grip firm on Kurapika’s arm as he was dragged in tow. 

Gon stayed behind.

“Be careful Killua” Gon whispered as he leaned into Killua’s ear, “people in masks cannot be trusted”. Killua jumped back, unused to close contact. His cheeks were slightly pink, not that Gon noticed, of course.

“I’ll be fine, dumb-dumb!” he punched Gon in the shoulder, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up with you later”

Alrighty! See you later!” Gon ran to catch up with Illumi and Kurapika, but not before waving goodbye to his best friend.

Killua watched as the group left. After a while, he looked over the cliff’s edge. Sure enough, the man was still climbing, granted at a much slower pace. Killua shook his head, and started to pace. Once he was bored with that, he started to practice his fencing. A jab here, a parry there. He switches from his left to his right hand. He is again bored. KIllua looks over the cliff again, the man has barely moved six inches. He groaned. This is going to take forever. Hmm. might as well take this opportunity to get to know his opponent.

“Hey, old man!” he shouts.

The man glances up, “who you calling old man.” he grunts. The man is still focused on the task at hand, and seemingly has little patience for name-calling.

Killua snorts “Who do you think, old man? You’re pretty slow, could you speed things up?”

“If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a rope, or a tree branch, or find something useful to do.” The man is clearly annoyed now, and he almost loses his grip so he could shake his fist at the disembodied voice insulting him.

“I could do that. In fact, I've got some rope up here...But I don’t think that you will accept my help, since I am only waiting around to kill you” he shrugged. 

There's a pause from the man. After a moment he begins to climb again.

“That does put a damper on our relationship” said the man, clearly struggling to find a ledge to grab.

“However,” Killua began, “I promise I will not kill you, until you reach the top”

It’s now the man's turn to snort.

“comforting.” he replied “but you’ll just have to wait.”

“UGH! I hate waiting!” Killua scratched his chin, “wait! What if I give you my word as a Zoldyck?”

The man stopped and paled. A Zoldyck? Better be careful then.

“Uh. no thanks!”

“Fine!” Killua walked away from the ledge and crossed his arms. He stood there for a while. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. He couldn’t take it anymore. He goes back over the ledge.

“Is there any way I could get you to trust me?”

“Nothing in particular comes to mind” The man was starting to get annoyed.

Suddenly, Killua’s attitude shifted. Before he was bored and impatient, now he was serious and determined. His eyes blaze and his voice takes on a tone the man has not heard before.

“I swear on the souls of my sisters, Alluka and Nanika Zoldyck, that you will reach the top alive.”

There is a long pause.

Then, quietly, the man mutters, “throw the rope”

Killua rushes to where the rope was originally tied to, and unravels enough of it to reach the man. The man reaches for the rope. He is barely able to reach it but eventually grabs it. Killua pulls on the rope and helps the man up. When the man reaches the top, Killua finally gets a good look at him. He is dressed in all black and a mask covers the top portion of his face. He’s tall, and fairly well built. Shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. The man in black reaches for his sword. Killua puts his hand up.

“We’ll wait until your ready”

The man sighs in relief. 

“Thank you”

The two sit quietly. The man in black takes off one of his boots. Several rocks fall out. Killua breaks the silence.

“Say, old man, you don’t happen to have six fingers on your right hand do you?”

The man in black ignores the insult only because he is so baffled by the question. He takes off his glove and shows the young assassin his right hand. There are five fingers.

“Dammit.” mutters Killua. He is clearly disappointed.

“Can I ask, uh, why the number of fingers on my hand is so important to you?” The man in black is still recovering from the question.

“My sisters were taken by a six fingered man. You see, they have the power to grant wishes. The six finger man showed up at our doorstep one day and promised my father riches for a single wish. My father, the greedy bastard he is, agreed. They brought the six finger man to my sisters, and asked to be left alone. He said he wanted to ask his wish in secret. My father complied…” 

Killua stopped, tears were starting to well in his eyes. Why’d he have to be so emotional? He took a deep breath, and continued. 

“And that's the last time I ever saw them.” Killua then starts to remove something from his neck, it's a locket. “This is the only thing I have left of them” 

he opens the locket, and inside is a picture of a young girl, probably not much older than 12. She has long black hair and short bangs that stick out from a headband. She looks happy. He shows the picture to the man in black.

“Seems like a sweet kid, but” the man in black pauses, trying to word his question carefully. “may I... ask where...the other sister is?”

“Oh, right!” Killua rubs his neck. He looks sheepish “probably should have explained that. The girl in the photo you see here is my little sister Alluka. She shares her body with another soul who goes by Nanika. They are inseparable and I consider them both to be my sisters”

“I think I get it. So...Do you have plans to go after her?” asks the man in black

“Yes. But first I must find the six fingered man. the next time we meet, I will go up to the six-fingered man and say “Hello, my name is Killua Zoldyck. You took my sisters. Prepare to die.” 

The assassin's voice was low and his tone was sharper than any knife. Clearly he meant business. Suddenly his entire demeanor changed, and he was back to his regular, laissez-faire attitude.

“Of course I’ll have to interrogate him first, make him suffer and all that, but once that's over, I’m going straight for the heart.”

The man in black gulped “that’s uh, great kid. I hope you find him one day” even though he was afraid, the man in black meant it. He really hoped the kid could be reunited with his sisters. He takes a deep breath, and stands up. His sword is at the ready.

“Oh. so you’re ready, then?” asks Killua. He also gets up, but instead of going for his sword, he stretches.

The man in black shrugs. “Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair”.

Killua pulls out his sword.

“You seem like a decent fellow, I hate to kill you”

The man in black chuckles in spite of himself

“You seem like a decent fellow, I hate to die”

The two circle around each other. The man in black is the first to strike, but it is an obvious feint and Killua parries it with ease. Killua lunges at the man in black, but he is quick to get out of the way. This game of cat and mouse continues for a short while, but then the two swordsmen begin to fight in earnest. Their swords cross, then again, and again. The sound comes so fast it's almost continual. Killua presses on, the man in black retreats up a rocky incline. He has begun to break a sweat.

Killua is actually having fun. Sure, he could wipe out this man easily, but the man had clearly done some serious training. Plus, Killua didn’t get to fence often, so this duel was good practice.

“ You're using Bonetti's defense” Killua states, because it is a fact, not a question.

“I thought it fitting, considering the rocky terrain” the man in black is trying the best he can, but he is on the defence.

“Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro.” Killua shifts his style.

“Naturally,” the man in black grunts. It is now his turn to shift. “but I find Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro, don't you?”

The two men are now flying across the rocky terrain. never losing balance, never coming close to stumbling; the battle rages with incredible finesse, first one and then the other gaining the advantage. Much to Killua’s surprise and delight, the match is close.

“You aren’t half bad, old man!” says Killua as he dodges a blow that would have hit his right abdomen if he wasn’t so quick.

“Thanks, I try” replies the man in black, his concentration never breaking from the fight at hand.

“But guess what? I know something that you don’t.” Killua’s voice is sing-songy, almost teasing.

“And what is that?” the man in black jabs to the left and actually almost hits his target, but Killua dodges just in time.

Killua grins. The outer corners of his mouth are pointed like knives. 

“You see, I am not left handed” at this the sword switches from left to right, and the man in black is on the defensive yet again. The man in black tries his best, but it is clear who is in control of this fight. He can’t help but be impressed.

“You’re amazing!” he says, his breathing fluctuating as he spoke.

Killua snorts, “it better be after all the training I went through”

“However,” the man in black begins “I also know something that you don’t.”

“And that is?” Killua now has him pinned against a rock, the sword is dangerously close to the man in black’s face.

“I’m not left handed either” the sword changes hands, and the man in black is actually able to push the assassin off of him.

If Killua was having fun before, he was absolutely having a blast right now. The two men still were not evenly matched, but the man in black was clearly more skilled with his right than his left. Killua’s train of thought is interrupted as his sword is flown out of his hand and lands into the ground below. He retreats and dives from the stairs to a moss-covered bar suspended over the archway. He swings out, lands, and scrambles to his sword. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t giving this man the credit he deserved. He looks up at the man in black, who smirked, and casually tosses his sword to the landing where it sticks in perfectly. He then jumps for the bar, swings over it completely, and dismounts with a backflip. Killua leans on his sword and whistles in amazement. Little too much flare for his tastes, but he’s gotta give the man credit for style.

“Nice moves, old man. I gotta ask, who are you?” the two begin to circle each other again.

The man in black shrugs. “No one of consequence.”

“Pleeease? I gotta know.” Killua was genuinely curious to see the man behind the mask. He hadn’t had a good fight like this in a long time.

The man in black smirked “get use to disappointment”

“Eh. I tried” and at that the two are at battle once more. The two move like lightning. Dodge. Parry. Slash. Thrust. Dodge. Thrust. Parry. Slash. Their movements become quicker and quicker as steel strikes steel. But everything must come to an end. A final blow sends the man in black’s sword flying from his grip. He stands helplessly for a moment. Then, he falls to his knees, open, defenseless, tired. 

“If you’re gonna kill me make it quick” he says this with eyes shut tight. 

“Are you kidding me?!” The man in black opens his eyes in surprise. The assassin stands before him, a delighted grin on his face. “that’s the most fun I’ve had in years! You gotta show me how you did that thing with the bar.” Killua helps the man to his feet as he says this. The man in black is visibly confused.

“So...you aren’t going to kill me?” the man in black asks.

“Nah, man. You’re an artist! You’ve got some real skill there” Killua punches the man's shoulder. He winces. Ow. 

“Okay...so what do we do now?”

“You’re after the prince right?” Killua shrugs. “As long as you promise not to harm the guy, I’ll let you go after him. But you gotta promise, alright? Gon really likes the guy, and we were already planning on helping him escape anyways.”

The man in black’s jaw dropped but he quickly picked it back up. Was getting prince Kurapika really that easy?

“O-okay! We have a deal! “The man in black sticks out his hand. Killua grabs it and shakes it. 

“They went that way,” Killua points east.

“Now, Gon probably thinks that you have beaten me, and he might be a little pissed, or impressed. I don’t know” Killua shakes his head, “I’m getting off track. Anyways, if you don’t want to get the everloving-shit beaten out of you, when you meet him, you gotta tell him our secret passcode” 

Killua whispers into the man in black’s ear as he leaned down. The man snorts and raises an eyebrow.

“Really? That's your secret passcode?”

“S-shut-up!” Killua blushes “do you want to find the prince or not?!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going, I’m going” as he leaves, the man in black turns around one last time, “Killua, thanks for sparing my life. Also, I hope you find your sister. If you ever need any help, come look for me in Florin”

Killua snorts, “Man dressed in black who wears a mask and has no defining facial features. I’m sure you’ll be a breeze to find.” he smiles in spite of himself “But thanks for the offer, though. I do appreciate it”

“Well...see ya!” the man in Black waved goodbye as he walked away.

“Sure thing, old timer!” replied Killua

And so the man in black was off, ready to face a new trial. Little did he know that this was just the beginning of a very long journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry Alluka and Nanika are okay, they're in the same position as they are in the series. also, place your bets on who the six fingered man is, I wanna see what you guys are thinking ;)


	5. Duck!

“Inconceivable”

“What? What?! Lemme see!” Gon grabs at the telescope Illumi’s hand. With a sigh, he passes the telescope to Gon.

“It seems that the man in black has bested my brother,” Illumi shakes his head “a pity”

Gon felt his stomach drop. If the man in black had bested Killua, does that mean...? Is...Killua? No. he shakes his head to get rid of the intrusive thoughts. Killua’s fine. He’s tough. He can handle himself. But what if? No, there’s no time for what ifs. Besides, Gon still needs to figure out a way to save Prince Kurapika.

“Gon?”

Gon’s train of thought is interrupted. He looks up to see Illumi staring at him blankly.

“U-uh. Yeah Illumi?”

“You stay here. I’ll take the prince” said Illumi as he began to walk off with Kurapika.

Kurapika could feel Gon’s confusion through his blindfold. 

“But why? What do I do?”

“Why,” Illumi began “you’re going to kill him of course”

“Oh. right! Uh. how?” sheepishly asked gon.

Illumi turns around and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“It's simple. Pick up one of those rocks, get behind the boulder, and in a few minutes, the man in black will come running around the bend. The minute his head is in view, hit it. with. the rock.”

With that, Illumi turns back around and hurries off with Kurapika in tow.

“That’s not very sportsmanlike” grumbled Gon. he picks up a rock and hides behind a boulder. He sighed. 

His thoughts drift in his boredom, and he can only hope that Killua is alright.

An hour passes, and Gon nearly falls asleep, but he is woken up by the sound of footsteps. Gon makes himself even more hidden. From his hiding spot, he sees the man in black approach. He is careful, guarded. As he is coming up to the rocky terrain he stops, and listens. Gon holds his breath. After what feels like forever, the man in black finally decides to continue down the mountain path. As he is about to pass a boulder, throws the grapefruit-sized rock that he had wicked up earlier. It flies past the man's face, and shatters on the boulder behind him. The man quickly turns towards the direction the rock came from and draws his sword. He is surprised, to say the least.

Gon emerges from the boulder, another rock in hand

“I did that on purpose. I didn't have to miss”

The man in black gulps. His sword is still drawn, “don’t worry, I believe you”

“So…”

“So…” 

“What happens now?”

Gon shrugs. 

“Well,” he starts, “I could kill you. it’s why I was hired, you know? Buuuuuuuuuuut I don’t really like hurting people unless it’s absolutely necessary. 

“That’s, uh, nice of you”

Gon shrugs again, “it’s as nice as I can be with a job like this”

“That’s fair”

“Anyways,” Gon continued, “I could kill you, but before I do that, I gotta ask, how did you beat Killua?”

There is genuine curiosity in the boy's voice, but there's also something else. Something... dangerous.   
The man in black is genuinely confused, “who’s Killua?”

Gon stares at the man in disbelief, “Killua? About ye high, pretty blue eyes, really fluffy white hair? World renowned assassin?”

“Oh. that was his name? I never caught it. Wait” the man in black pauses; he is thinking “if you know about Killua...then...oh! You must be Gon!”

The excitement from his revelation quickly turns to panic.

“Oh shit! Ah, fuck. What did that kid say the password was? C’mon think, think, think!” the man in black slaps his head as he tries to think.

“Please don’t kick my ass, I've nearly got it on the tip of my tongue. choco...choco...Oh!” he snaps his fingers, “chocolate robots! That’s the secret passcode right?”

Now it’s Gon’s turn to be confused. “How do you know the secret passcode?”

“The kid told it to me to make sure you wouldn’t kick my ass”

“So Killua’s alright” Gon breathed a sigh of relief. How silly, he was worried over nothing.

“Yeah? I honestly got pretty lucky that he spared my life”

A look of pure amazement spread across Gon’s face. “Wow! He spared you? You must have done something to really impress him.”

The man in black rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, “yeah, I guess. Wait a minute...” he narrows his eyes, “did you call his eyes pretty earlier?”

“U-um,” Gon stutters, “that's besides the point! Anyways!” he clears his throat as if it will clear away his obvious embarrassment, “If killua trusts you, then I trust you”

The man in black finally sheaths his sword, “that’s great! Now if you could just direct me in the direction of the prince-”

“Wait!” Gon interrupts, his happy demeanor was now deadly serious “you’re not here to hurt him, are you?”

There is pain behind the man in black’s eyes. He is very quiet for a moment, then he smiles. there’s something bittersweet about it.

“I couldn’t even if I tried”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others. I do, however, plan on posting chapter 6 later tonight, so look forward to that :)


	6. a battle of wits

Far elsewhere, Prince Chrollo dismounts from his horse. He looks at the surrounding terrain. He is at the edge of a cliff. Rocky ruins surround him. He follows a pair, no, two pairs, of footsteps with his own feet and mimics their movements. Forward. Forward. Back. forward. Back. Back. Backs. He stops.

“There was a duel. It ranged all over. They were both masters” Chrollo decides.

“Hmmm. interesting. Who won? Did anyone die?” asked his advisor, Hisoka. 

Now, Hisoka was a strange fellow. He had flaming red hair and upon first glance looked more like a court jester than a royal advisor. He had an affinity for card tricks. His smile could turn the bravest knight’s stomach. He was cold, calculating, but more than anything else, he was dangerously eccentric.

“Considering the lack of blood, no, no one was killed. It seems the loser went off alone...while the winner followed these other footprints to Guildar.” Prince Chrollo stood up and went to mount his horse, “clearly this was all planned by warriors of Guilder. We must find the prince and be ready for whatever lies ahead”

“Of course your majesty. However, have you considered the possibility that this could be a trap?” there was no concern in Hisoka’s voice, just gleeful anticipation.

The prince smiled “I always think everything is a trap. It’s one of the reasons I'm still alive” and with this the prince and his posse ride off towards Guilder, ready to save the prince.

Far away, the man in black crests the peak of the mountain. He sees prince Kurapika and begins to run forward, but stops when he sees the knife to his throat. 

“So,” Illumi begins, “it is down to you. And it is down to me” he gestures for the man in black to take a seat.

Before him was a quaint picnic. Two goblets have been set up, a platter of cheese and apples has been laid out, and a bottle of wine sits between two candles. The sun is setting and in the background the crash of waves can be heard. Overall it's a lovely scene, if you ignore the dagger pressed against the prince’s neck. The man in black steps forward, his hand at his sword.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Illumi pushes the knife hard against the prince's unprotected throat. “Not a step closer. Unless, you wish him dead, then by all means come forward”

The man in black stops. He takes his hand off his sword and raises both his hands towards the sky.

“Let me explain-”

“Oh. please”, Illumi rolls his eyes, “there’s nothing to explain. You are trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen”

The man in black takes another step further, “perhaps an arrangement can be made”

The knife against the prince’s throat digs in deeper. Kurapika can’t help but gasp at the sudden and sharp pain.

Illumi tsks, “What did I say about coming closer? Take one more step and he’s dead. No, I don’t think an arrangement can be made”

The man in black is painfully aware of his movements now. He needs to come up with something, and quickly.

“Well, if no arrangement can be made, then I’m afraid we’ve come to an impasse”

“Very true. While I could compete with you physically, I’d rather not waste any time and let Florin gain ground on us. We can’t compete mentally, because you are no match for my brains”

The man in black snorts, “you really think you’re clever?”

“Exceptionally” replies Illumi.

“Well, then” the man in black puts his hands on his hips. “I challenge you to a battle of wits!”

“My, you’re rather confident. Very well, for the princess?” Illumi asks.

The man in black nods.

“To the death?”

The man in black nods again.

“Interesting. I accept”

“Fantastic. Pour the wine?”

Illumi puts down the dagger, but keeps a firm grip on Kurapika’s wrist with one hand and pours the wine with the other. The man in black sits across from them. Once both parties are settled, the man in black pulls out a small wooden vial and hands it to Illumi.

“Inhale this, but do not touch” instructs the man in black.  
Illumi does so, “I smell nothing”

“What you do not smell” says the man in black, “is iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man”

“Fascinating” Illumi quips. He knows this already, but it is too early to play his cards just yet.

The man takes the wine filled goblets and turns his back towards Illumi. He turns back again, and places the vial upside down. It is empty. The man in black places one goblet in front of Illumi, then one in front of himself. He pauses a moment, then switches the positions of the cup, then switches their positions yet again. Finally, he lets go of the goblets.

“So, where’s the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right and who is dead” despite the stakes being so high, the man in black’s tone is still light and mirthful.

“Your goblet is poisoned. Let’s drink” immediately responds Illumi. He is already reaching for his glass.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on, that's it?” the man in black raises his eyebrow, “you aren’t going to explain your reasoning? No clever quips, no deduction?”

“Nope, Lets drink”

The man in black shrugs, “alright, bottoms up!”

Illumi raises his glass, “cheers”

They both drink simultaneously, down to the very last drop. Once they are done, Illumi lets out a low chuckle. The man in black smiles.

“You guessed wrong”

Illumi’s laughter grows louder, and what was once a small titter was now a convulsing roar of laughter. Kurapika, who had never heard the man emote once, is horrified at the noises coming out of his captor. For something so robust and vigorous, his laugh was surprisingly hollow. It terrified him to his very core. He had to get out of here, fast. the man in black has not yet made a sound.

“What’s so funny?” quips the man in black. He is still smiling.

“Oh. forgive me,” Illumi wipes a tear from his eye, “its-its just. I’ve never met someone so stupid before”

“Is that so?” The man in black is still smiling, but his eyes have narrowed.

“I'm sorry, let me catch my breath and explain”, Illumi clears his throat, “you have heard of the Zoldycks, haven’t you?”

The man in black nods his head. 

“Well you see,” Illumi continues, “I just so happen to be the eldest of the Zoldyck siblings.” He grins, “your starting to put the pieces together, aren’t you? It doesn’t matter what glass you put the poison in, because as a trained assassin, I’m Immune to all poison! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is Never get involved in a land war in Asia. But only slightly less well known is this: Never go in against a Zoldyck when death is on the line! Ha hahaha ha! Haha ha! hah-”

His laughter is cut off with a loud thunk. Illumi’s face has now met the ground. Above him stands Kurapika, blind fold off and wrists unbound. He has a rather heavy rock in his hand.

“I swear to god if I had to hear his god-awful cackling again, I would have punctured my eardrums” he rubs his wrists. While Killua had not tied Kurapika’s wrists too tight, they had still rubbed against his skin uncomfortably and had caused some rope burn. He picked up the knife that Illumi had dropped and twirled it in his fingers.

“So,” Kurapika pointed the knife at his pursuer “who exactly are you?” 

The man in black stood up, his arms raised to show he meant no harm.

“Hold on their, sunshine-”

“Don’t.” the knife was now at the man in black’s neck “Call. Me. Sunshine.”

“Oh? Touchy are we?” the knife dug in deeper. “Okay. Okay! I get the message, your highness”

Kurapika lowered the knife. An unfortunate mistake really, because as soon as he had removed the knife from the man's neck, the knife was removed from his hand, and the man in black had a firm grasp on his wrists. He struggled, but he could not move.

With nowhere to go, Kurapika had no choice but to take a good look at the man standing before him. He was dressed from head to toe in black, including a mask and a scarf to cover the top portion of his head. From what Kurapika could make out, the man had a strong jawline and dark brown eyes. Sideburns peeked out from underneath his mask. Kurapika would be intrigued if he wasn’t so pissed.

“Let me go!” Kurapika again struggled against the man’s grasp, but the man held on tight.

“Sorry your highness, afraid I can't do that just yet. We got to set some ground rules first” 

“What do you want, you piece of shi-”

The man in black interrupted him. “Ah ah ah! Language mister”

Kurapika fumed.

“What. Do you. Want”

“So glad you asked,” the man in black leaned in, “Money. You, my prince, will fetch me a pretty penny once I put you up for ransom”

“I’m sure” kurapika rolled his eyes.

“But first, we have to get you somewhere far away from here. So, rule number one: you have to follow me”

Kurapika narrowed his eyes “Or what.”

“Or, your prince is going to have to pay in installments, because I will be sending you back in bits and pieces” the man in black growled. “Are we clear?”

Kurapika bit his lip so hard it nearly bled . 

“Crystal”

“Perfect. Rule number two: You are allowed three questions, no more, no less.”

Now this confused Kurapika. “Why three?”

The man in black raised an eyebrow “is that one of your questions?”

Oh, Kurapika was going to kill this man. He clenched his teeth “No.”

“Good to know. You know, your highness, I’m usually not so nice to my prisoners. You should consider yourself lucky”

“Oh I’m sure I am. Now, would you be so kind as to release me?” Kurapika’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“I never could say no to a pretty face” The man in black sighed as he loosened his grip on Kurapika’s wrist.

Kurapika was so done with this man “Thank you” he said in a sickly sweet tone.

“Your welcome” the man in black matched him in sarcasm “Now, follow me, your highness. We have a long journey ahead of us”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this chapter was so fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	7. Reunion

Kurapika is tired. He hadn’t gotten much sleep on the boat, and the man in black insisted that they travel through the night. By the time they had stopped to rest, Kurapika was exhausted.

“Catch your breath, you’re going to need it for later” orders the man in black.

“You know, it’s no use running” says Kurapika in between breaths, ”there's no greater hunter than Prince Chrollo. If he can track a falcon on a cloudy day, he can find you”

The man in black scoffs, “you think your beloved is going to save you?”

“I never said he was my beloved!” snaps Kurapika. He crosses his arms in indignation, “But yes, he is going to save me, that much I know”

“Now this is strange” the man in black strokes his chin, “you admit you do not love your husband?”

“He knows that I do not love him,” Kurapika says matter-of-factly.

The man in black barks out a singular, sharp laugh that conveys a deep contempt.

“Incapable of love is more accurate”

At this kurapika stands up. He is furious. How dare this man, after all he’s been through, after all he’s lost! He pokes an enraged finger at the man’s chest.

“Listen here, you...you...monster! I have loved more deeply and fully than a killer like yourself could ever dream!”

The man in black swats the hand away and grabs the other’s wrist. He twists his arm around his back. The man in black leans in close to and whispers into Kurapika's ear. His breath was hot against his neck and he spoke in a low tone. 

“Listen closely, your highness. The only reason I have not laid a hand on you is because you are very, very, precious cargo. Do not make me send the prince back damaged goods. do you understand?”

“I understand” says Kurapika through clenched teeth.

“Good,” the man in black lets go of his arm, “now rest. We have a long ways to go”

Kurapika rolls his shoulders and sits back down. He is still pissed, but something struck him as odd. Despite being incapacitated, the man in black never stretched his arm far back enough to cause him physical pain. The same can be said for their first interaction; when he had a hold of Kurapika’s wrists. Sure his grip was strong and hard to break away from, but it never hurt. The man in black had been surprisingly gentle despite his threats.

Elsewhere, Prince Chrollo has stumbled upon a rather lovely picnic. He notices an empty vile. He sniffs it. Nothing. He hands it to Hisoka so that he may do the same.

“I smell nothing,” Hisoka replies. 

“Iocane. I’d bet my life on it” declares Prince Chrollo as a set of footprints catches his eye. “Here are the prince’s footprints. He is alive, thank God. Or at least he was, a couple of hours ago.”

The prince shakes his head “If I find him to be otherwise, I shall be very put out”

“Of course, your majesty” Hisoka bows as he says this.

Chrollo mounts his horse “Well, we must not waste any time. Onward!”

The prince charges off towards the direction of the footprints, and his posse follows.

Meanwhile, Kurapika and the man in the black mask are traveling yet again. They are on the edge of a very steep hill, one children should not sled unless they are willing to risk life and limb for the adrenaline rush. So far, they have walked in relative silence. Kurapika is still tired, but he has finally figured out what to ask for his three questions.

“Was he really wrong?” asks kurapika, breaking the silence.

The man in black turns around, confused. “What?” 

“Illumi. My kidnapper. Did he guess the wrong cup or not?” there was a slight tinge of frustration in Kurapika’s voice.

“Yes, but not by chance,” the man in black grins conspiratorially, “I poisoned both the cups.”

Kurapika stopped. “What.” 

“Okay, so poisoned might be too strong of a word. Sedated would be more accurate. During my travels I found a very strong sedative, similar to iocane, that would knock a person out for at least twelve hours. Now, I do not know if Illumi had built an immunity to said sedative, but I never got to find out because a certain someone beat me to it” he glances at Kurapika, “thank you for that by the way. I honestly would have had no Idea what to do if we had came to another impasse”

Kurapika was flabbergasted, “But, your still-”

“Awake? I’ve spent the last few years building an immunity towards it. Need to in my line of business” shrugs the man in black. “Now c’mon, we’ve got to keep moving”

But Kurapika doesn’t move. Everything finally clicked. He had had his suspicions before, but this confirmed it.

“Who are you?”

“Really, another question? I hope you're-” before the man in black could finish that sentence, Kurapika interrupts him. His voice lower and his tone much darker than before.

“Who. Are. You?”

This caused the man in black to turn around yet again. He was intrigued. 

“Judging by your tone, your highness, I’m guessing you already know. Now you tell me, who do you think I am?” he grins playfully. It falters for a second as he sees red eyes stare into his.

“You're the Dread Pirate Roberts: admit it” 

the man in black swore if looks could kill, he would be dead where he stood. He bows instead, “with pleasure, what can I do for you?”

“You can die slowly, cut into a thousand pieces,” spits Kurapika.

“Such animosity! Why shoot your venom at me?” the man in black puts on a face of faux confusion, but he knows exactly what the other man is talking about.

“You killed my love” the blond’s hostility was palpable.

The man in black shrugs, “It's possible; I kill a lot of people. Who was this love of yours? Another Prince, like this one, ugly, rich, and scabby?”

“No. A farm boy. Poor. Poor and perfect. With eyes so kind and warm it felt like being wrapped up in a blanket” Kurapika’s own eyes stared off into the distance, lost in some bittersweet memory. The red begins to fade, but it comes back in full force as he continues.

“On the high seas, your ship attacked, and the Dread Pirate Roberts never takes prisoners”

The man in black, now the Dread Pirate Roberts, begins to circle Kurapika.

“You being the only exception of course. Usually, I can’t afford to make exceptions. Once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you, and then it's nothing but work, work, work, all the time!

Kurapika is now fighting back tears, “You mock my pain!”

“Life is pain, Highness.” hisses Roberts, but he quickly calms himself down, “But I digress. I think I remember this farm boy of yours, I think. This would be around five years ago?

Kurapika nods.

“Does it bother you to hear about it?” Roberts’ tone is mockingly gentle, but Kurapika can’t bring himself to care.

“Nothing you can say could hurt me any worse than losing him”

“Very well,” continues Roberts, “He died well, that should please you. No begging, no blubbering, no bribes. Just please. Please I need to live. Now, the please intrigued me. I asked him what was so important. True love was his response. He spoke of a man of ethereal beauty and everlasting faithfulness. I can only assume he meant you. You should thank me for killing him before he found out what you really are”

Kurapika laughed bitterly, “and what am I?”

“Faithfulness. Faithfulness, sir!” Roberts shouts as he leans dangerously close to Kurapika’s face. He is so blinded by anger that he does not see the tears welling in the others eyes. “When you found out he was gone, did you get engaged to your prince that same hour, or did you wait a whole week out of respect for the dead?”

Kurapika has had enough. He slaps the Dread Pirate Roberts sharply across the face. The sound echoes off into the ravine.

“You mocked my pain once, never do it again!” he shouts, “I died that day!”

Roberts is about to reply, but he is distracted by something in the distance. Horses, lots of them. Kurapika sees his chance.

“You can die too for all I care!” he pushes the pirate over the ravine. Finally, his lover avenged.

Or at least, so he thinks.

Because, as the pirate teeters over the edge, he cries, “No, ‘pika, wait!” before tumbling, spinning, and crashing towards the flat rock of the ravine.

Kurapika blanches. ‘Pika? But, the only person who ever called him that-

His thoughts are interrupted as a voice from far below is carried up by the wind.

“As...you...wish…” 

“...Leorio?” he whispers. his voice rises in panic, “Leorio!”

Kurapika races down the hillside. He almost trips and tumbles down like leorio, but he manages to find his footing and is by Leorio’s side in an instant. He isn’t moving. A pit grows in Kurapika’s stomach. Oh god, he’s dead. 

Suddenly, the other man groans in pain. 

“You know what, I deserved that”

Kurapika laughs.

“You really did”

Leorio lets out a breathy chuckle, still recovering from the fall. Then there is silence.

“...why didn’t you wait for me?” Leorio asks quietly. Despite his soft tone, his voice is surprisingly raw with emotion.

“Well” Kurapika tears well in his eyes, “...you were dead”.

He goes through all five stages of grief remembering the loss he felt when Leorio died. But, now he’s alive. Kurapika is happy, sad, angry, confused, but more than anything, he is overwhelmed. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop the deluge of tears from spilling over. Leorio wipes them from Kurapika’s cheeks. He doesn’t notice it, but he is also crying.

“Oh, ‘pika. Death cannot stop true love.” he smiles sadly, “It can only delay it for a while” 

Kurapika sniffs, “I know, and I would have waited! But Prince chrollo chose me as his bride, and by law I cannot refuse so-”

Leorio rocketed up, his back was as stiff as a board.

“Wait. You mean you didn’t chose-”

Kurapika barked out a laugh, “Ha! Are you kidding me?! I would have remained a spinster for the rest of my days if it wasn’t for Chrollo...” at the very thought of his fiance Kurapika grimaces.

Leorio laughs and cups his hands gently around Kurapika’s face, gently stroking away the last remnants of tears.

“Kurapika, I am so, so, sorry. I’ve treated you horribly these past 24 hours. I was so bitter and-and angry, I just-” leorio took a deep breath and looked down in shame “I thought you didn’t love me anymore”

Kurapika held his lover's face in his hands.

“Leorio,” it was his turn to wipe away the tears, “I could never stop loving you”

And he kisses him. Kurapika can taste the salt from their tears, but he can’t bring himself to care. He is just so, so, happy. The kiss is tender. Tender, and loving, and gentle. It’s almost enough to wipe away five years of grief. Almost. When they break from the kiss, Kurapika looks Leorio dead in the eye, his expression serious.

“We’ll talk about this later. We need to get moving” Kurapika helps Leorio up, “I wasn’t kidding when I said that Prince Chrollo was an excellent tracker”

Leorio nods his head, “Got it. Don’t worry, I know a place your pig of a fiance will never find us”

Kurapika cocks his head, “where?”

Leorio grins, “you ever heard of the Fire-Swamp?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of struggled with this chapter, ngl. I don't personally like the way the original princess bride handled wesley's grief and anger towards buttercup, so I cut some scenes and tried to make leorio's anger not justifiable, but understandable. If any of the scenes have made you uncomfortable or feel out of character, I completely understand. Other than that I hope you enjoyed reading this!


	8. The Fire Swamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoooooo, writers block is a bitch! but I got it done! anyways I decided to make this chapter longer than the others to make it up to you guys. hope you enjoy!

Kurapika had indeed heard of the fire swamp. Prince Chrollo had once sent an expedition through the swamp once; 50 men in total. 25 on horseback, 25 on foot, all well trained, all heavily armed, all but one came back alive.

“You know it's quite nice here” Leorio interrupted his train of thought. 

Kurapika glances at his surroundings. Tall, dark trees with thick foliage blocked out all but a few rays of sunlight. Thick vines and spanish moss hung low from the trees and the ground was covered in a wet, viscous substance that stuck to the bottom of their shoes. The air was moist and sulphuric. Screams wholly animalistic and inhuman can be heard in the distance. Kurapika glances back to Leorio, his eyebrows raised.

“Hey,” retorts leorio, “I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are kinda nice…” 

Kurapika shakes his head. “We’re never going to make it out of here alive”

“Nonsense”, Leorio cuts through foliage to clear a path “you’re just saying that because no one’s done it before!”

His tone is full of confidence and unbelievably cheery. Unbelievable as in, Kurapika doesn’t believe him. However, Kurapika would rather not dwell on his inevitable doom for any longer, so he decided to change the subject.

“So, was anything you said before true? You know, about the Dread Pirate Roberts?”

“Well,” began Leorio, still cutting through vines and spanish moss, “most of it’s true, actually. I really am the Dread Pirate Roberts”

Kurapika was confused. “But, how? Robert’s has been sailing for nearly twenty-five years, and you were only gone for five”

“The Dread Pirate Roberts was never a real person. I mean, I guess he was at one point, but it’s the name that is important. It’s a title more than anything. The Dread Pirate Roberts that I knew wasn’t the real Dread Pirate Roberts, and the Dread Pirate Roberts he knew wasn’t the real one either, etcetera, etcetera” Leorio pauses and blushes, “the uh, whole please thing was true too. Saved my life actually. It intrigued Roberts, that and my fifteen minute rant about how pretty, kind and smart you were”

Kurapika snorts.

Leorio continues. “Finally, Roberts decided something. He said, "All right, Leorio, I've never had a valet. You can try it for tonight. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." Three years he said that. "Good night, Leorio. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." I picked up some skills here and there. Learned how to fence, to fight, anything anyone would teach me. Roberts and I eventually became friends. And then it happened”.

Kurapika was intrigued “what?”

“Well, Roberts had grown so rich, he wanted to retire. So he took me to his cabin and told me about how the Dread Pirate Roberts was actually a title, and how his real name was actually Alvin. He made me the new Dread Pirate Roberts, got me a new crew, was my first mate for a while and voila!” Leorio bows, “Here I am today”

Kurapika stifled a giggle. Then, there’s a pause. Kurapika bites his lips and fiddles with his thumbs. He can’t look Leorio in the eye. Finally, he breaks the silence. His voice is barely above a whisper.

“Were you really going to ransom me?”

Leorio stops.

“No...yes…I-” Leorio sighs “it’s difficult to explain”

“Well, try.”

Leorio takes a deep breath in, and slowly let’s it out. He sits down on an old withered tree stump and looks down in shame.

“Okay. No, you’re right, you deserve to know.” he looks Kurapika in the eye, “yes, I was planning on ransoming you once we got back to my ship”

And like that, Kurapika’s heart breaks in two. 

“Why?” his voice cracks a little.

Leorio takes in another deep breath, “ ‘Pika, you got to remember, I thought you didn’t love me anymore. I was dumb, angry, and bitter. I thought that even if I revealed my identity, you would reject me. So, I decided to hide behind the mask and let you think I was the Dread Pirate Roberts. I would have rather died rich and alone and have you hate me, than know you didn’t love me.” 

Leorio runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head. “ I’m a fucking coward ‘pika. I’m stupid, I’m selfish, and I’m a coward. I’m no longer the man you once loved and these past five years have made me a resentful man. You don’t have to forgive me, nor do I expect you to...but,”

tears sting his eyes as he finally looks up at Kurapika.

“...please, please, can you still love me…?” 

Kurapika sighs.

“I am still, very, VERY, mad at you, and I don’t think I will be able to forgive you. At least, not for now...but, Leorio,” Kurapika kneels down and gently wipes away a small stream of tears, “I thought of you every day for five years...I don’t care if you’ve changed, I could never stop loving you”

And they kiss. It is nowhere as passionate as any of their previous kisses; it is sweet and gentle, but the emotion behind it is more intense than anything from before. Leorio’s kiss says “I’m sorry”, and Kurapika’s kiss says “I know, it’s okay”. They manage to say “I love you” without speaking a word. Despite its intensity, the kiss lasted less than two seconds. Within those two seconds, however, Kurapika and Leorio had heard one another loud and clear. They loved each other, and they weren’t going anywhere. 

The moment is interrupted by a snarl. Kurapika quickly scans for it’s source.

“What was that?” panic begins to creep into his voice.

Leorio rolls his eyes “don’t worry about it, it's probably nothing”

“This is the fire swamp” Kurapika glares, “There’s no way in hell that was nothing” 

“We’ve been fine so far haven’t we? No flame spurts, no lightning sand, this place isn’t as dangerous as the rumors make it out to be”

Kurapika raises an eyebrow. “What about the R.O.U.S’s?”

“Pfft. Rodents of unusual size? I don’t think they exist-”

A rodent of unusual size comes flying out of nowhere. It’s on top of leorio, it’s teeth barely scrape his neck. Leorio is just able to hold the creature at bay. The creature tries to get Leorio into a death roll, but he drives a fist into the beast’s face and is able to kick him off. His sword is just a few feet away. He reaches out, but he’s too late. The R.O.U.S is on top of him again. The beast is more successful than last time, and sinks its teeth into the meat of Leorio’s bicep. He howls in pain, and it mixes with the R.O.U.S’s screeching. It’s screams suddenly turn into a gurgle as it chokes on it’s own blood. After a while, it is silent. The rodent has stopped moving.

Kurapika stands over the body of the R.O.U.S. He is breathing heavily and his eyes are as red as the blood splattered all over his cheeks. In his right hand he holds a bloody knife that Leorio recognized as the one he had taken from him during their initial reunion. It must have dropped to the ground while he was rolling around with the rodent. Kurapika drops the knife and rushes to Leorio’s aid. He props him up against the tree stump that he had been sitting on earlier. Leorio winces.

“Ow” 

Kurpaika cringes, “sorry. Are you alright?”

“Yeah i'm fine. It’s just a scra-AH” Leorio hisses as Kurapika inspects the wound.

Kurapika raises an eyebrow in disbelief “just a scratch, huh?”

“Olay, so maybe it’s a bit more than a scratch, but I’m fine, really!”

Kurapika still doesn’t believe him, but they have to get out of the fire swamp. 

“If you say so” he shrugs as he helps Leorio up.

Leorio stares intently at Kurapika, “you got a little, uh…” he points to his own cheek as reference.

“Huh?” kurapika wipes the blood from his cheek, “huh? Oh. Guess I made a mess”

“Sort of. Thanks for earlier, by the way.” Leorio chuckles, “you know you were pretty scary earlier, with your eyes and stuff. I’d only ever seen them do that when you were really happy”

Kurapika stood awkwardly, “They change color whenever i’m feeling an intense emotion. And when you got attacked...I was afraid I was going to lose you again. I’m sorry if I scared you”

Leorio waves his hands, “No! No! It's fine, really! Actually, I, uh, thought it was kinda…” Leorio trails off at the end there, and Kurapika has to strain his ears to hear what he said.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Kurapika scrunches his brows in confusion, “I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you”

Leorio began to sweat “I-um, well, I-uh, thought it, uh, was kinda…”

“Yes?”

“I thought it was kinda hot,” Leorio squeaks out. He buries his hands in his face.

Kurapika’s blush went all the way down to his neck. 

“Oh.” 

Leorio was also blushing, “yeah, um...a-anyways, let's just forget I said anything-”

“What if...what if I don’t want to forget?” Kurapika steps closer as he says this, his face still as red as an apple. His hands interlocked behind Leorio’s neck. Leorio’s blush went from a light dusting of pink to a blaring firetruck red. 

“W-well, you don’t have to I guess...” Kurapika drew closer, their noses almost touch. Leorio had never seen Kurapika like this. The intensity behind his eyes left Leorio a stuttering mess. “U-um, K-Kurapika? What are you-”

Kurapika kisses him and oh. Oh wow. Leorio was not prepared. Almost all their other kisses had been soft and sweet; barely even pecks. This kiss had a hunger behind it; desperate, reckless and addicting. Their engagement was quick but for most of their relationship, they had decided to take things slow. So when kurapika pulls him in and kisses him like he’s running out of air, Leorio doesn’t know how to respond at first. But then Kurapika runs his tongue across his lips and Leorio’s hands have a mind of their own. 

One hand snakes around Kurapika’s waist and pulls the blond closer. The other hand slid into Kurapika’s hair and tugged lightly. This elicits a gasp and sends a shiver down Kurapika’s spine. His own hands begin to wander, with one hand pressed firmly against the others chest and the other hand gripping leorio’s shoulder. The momentum picks up and Leorio moves from Kurapika’s lips to his neck, kissing every inch of skin in between. His teeth scrape against bare skin, and Kurapika bites back a moan. There’s a cry in the distance, and Kurapika suddenly remembers his surroundings. 

“Okay, okay! Down boy” Kurapika stifled a giggle. He gently pushes Leorio away from his neck, but Leorio still holds onto him tightly. He looks confused.

“Did i do something wrong?”

“No!” Kurapika quickly responds, “No! You were doing everything wonderfully. It’s just that....this,” he gestures to their surroundings, “isn’t the most safe place to do this right now. As much as I would love to continue this make-out session, we need to get out of here”

Leorio sighs, “Yeah, you’re right. I’d rather not have an R.O.U.S interrupt us again”

Kurapika chuckles, “yeah, me neither” 

So they continued on. They walked for an hour or so before the trees began to thin and they finally saw sunlight. Luckily they hadn’t encountered any more R.O.U.S’s along the way. A beach can be seen on the horizon. Leorio picks Kurapika up and spins him around.

“We did it ‘Pika, we did it!”

Kurapika laughs until Leorio finally sets him down. They go quiet and stare into each other’s eyes. Leorio leans forward, Kurapika closes his eyes-

“Surrender!”

The lovers go back to back and form into a defensive position. Leorio brandishes his sword and Kurapika flashes his dagger. They are completely surrounded and completely outnumbered. A figure steps forward and breaks the circular formation. It’s Prince Chrollo.

Leorio’s eyebrows quirk upwards, “You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept”.

Chrollo chuckles, “I give you full marks for bravery, but don’t be a fool” he gestures to the soldiers at his side, “you’re completely surrounded with nowhere to go. Face it, you’ve lost”

“Nowhere to run? You underestimate us, we know the secrets of the fire swamp and can live there happily for some time.” Leorio narrowed his eyes, “So, whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit”

Chrollo waves his hand in dismissal, “enough of these foolish games, Surrender!”

Leorio snorts “not going to happen, buddy”

Kurapika looks from one to the other, the gears in his head whirs at lightning speed, trying to find an escape plan. Then, as he studies the surrounding forces, something in the distance catches his eye. In the shadows, an armed soldier lays in wait, his crossbow is aimed directly at Leorio’s heart. Kurapika glances around again and finds one, two, five other men armed and ready to fire. The two men continue to bicker in the background.

“This is your final warning, surrender!” roars Chrollo, his usual even-temper finally breaking.

“Death first!” Leorio roars back, bigger and louder.

Kurapika hears the click of an arrow being notched, and it’s the final straw.

“Do you promise not to hurt him?!”

The two men whirl to face Kurapika.

“What?” they say, simultaneously confused.

“If I return to you, will you promise not to hurt this man?” Kurapika stares intently at Chrollo.

There is a pause. Then, Chrollo gives a hand signal to the soldiers in the shadows. They lower their weapons.

Kurapika breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thank you”

“Of course, darling” Chrollo replies. He is stoic, but Kurapika can see the smugness in his eyes.

Kurapika turns to Leorio. He gently cups the pirate’s face in his hands. 

“I lost you once and it almost destroyed me. I couldn’t bear to lose you again, not when I could save you” He kisses him sweetly, hoping that Leorio will understand. He turns back to Chrollo.

“He is a sailor on the pirate ship “Revenge”. Promise to return him to his ship”

Chrollo smiles “I swear it will be done”

Kurapika turns back to Leorio and embraces him tightly. He doesn’t want to say goodbye.

While the couple is distracted, Chrollo signals for Hisoka to come forward. He leans forward, and whispers into Hisoka’s ear.

“Once we're out of sight, take him back to Florin and throw him in the Pit of Despair”

Hisoka smiles sadistically “I swear it will be done”

Chrollo turns back to Kurapika,“Now come, my fiance, we do have a wedding to plan”

The couple finally break their tinder embrace. Kurapika tries to say something, but he is swooped off his feet and onto Chrollo’s horse. As they ride away Kurapika can’t help but look over his shoulder. Leorio stares as he rides off, dazed. He had worked so hard, he’d been so close, only for it all to be ripped away from at the very last moment. An arm snakes around his shoulder.

“Come sir,” Hisoka smiles, “we must get you to your ship”

Leorio scoffs “cut the shit, jangles. Where are you actually taking me?” it’s more of a demand than a question. 

Hiskoka’s smile grows even larger, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

And before Leorio can make a retort, Hisoka clubs him hard on the skull. He slumps into unconsciousness. Hisoka crouches down and inspects the unconscious body.

“I can see why the prince is taken with you, you're quite a handsome fellow. A pity, really, that i’m going to have to ruin that pretty face of yours” hisoka is now grinning from ear to ear, his eyes bulge out of his head in excitement. He stands back up and faces his troops “Come on, men! We must take this man back to his ship...”


	9. The Pit of Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for mentions of suicide. it's brief and only mentioned in passing, but if you need to skip this chapter I totally understand.

Dark and chilly, underground and windowless, lit by flickering torches, the Pit of Despair looks exactly like it sounds.

Leorio lays on a wooden slab, chained and unconscious. He’d almost look peaceful, if it wasn’t for the gigantic bite mark on his arm and the dried blood stuck in his hair. His slumber is rudely interrupted, however, by the thud of heavy footsteps. Leorio’s head pounds with the sound of each thump. It’s like a hangover, but much, much worse. He cracks an eye open. It’s dark, and he can barely move his head, but in the lowlight Leorio is able to makeout a figure. 

“Where am I?” he calls out, not expecting an answer. 

“The Pit of Despair” a low growl replies.

Leorio hears the clattering of metal. He feels something cold against the side of his skull. He winces at the touch.

“Don't even think-” there's a cough, a hack, a sputter, and then the low growl changes to a monotone tenor “as I was saying, don’t even think about trying to escape, The chains are far too thick. Don't dream of being rescued either. The only way in is secret, and only the prince, advisor Hisoka, and I know how to get in and out”

Leorio is silent for a moment.

“So I’m just here to die?”

“Until they kill you, yes”

“Then why-” Leorio hisses at another touch. “Why are you healing me?”

“The Prince and advisor Hisoka always insist on everyone being healthy before they are broken” the man states matter-of-factly.

“So it’s torture”

The man nods.

Leorio demeanor changes. It’s confident, almost smug. 

“I can cope with torture” 

The man chuckles, and Leorio doesn’t know what to think of it.

As the man’s hands move, Leorio is able to get a better view of his captor. He was gaunt, and ghastly pale. His arms were as thin as needles and his hands were long, slender, and surprisingly gentle. His fingers were as thin as his arms, all six of them. Wait a minute. 

“You have six fingers on your right hand” Leorio blurts out.

“Astute observation” the man's voice remains monotone, but there was a tinge of sarcasm.

“someone was looking for you”

“Oh, really?” 

“Yeah, do you know a killua zold-ah!” Leorio winces as the man presses firmly on his wounds.

“Let’s not go poking our nose in other people’s business, hmm?” as he says this, the man presses harder on the wound.

“So you do know him,” Leorio says through clenched teeth.

The man moves from Leorio’s head injury to the one on his bicep.

“You willingly go into the fire swamp and you continue to prod at the man who has your life in his hands. I do not know if you are incredibly brave or incredibly stupid”

“Why not both?” another wince.

“My, you are talkative, aren’t you? I can’t wait for the machine to break you” as he says that last part, the man leans in close, “Your screams are going to be delicious”

Apparently Leorio’s description from before had been a little too accurate. He hadn’t noticed it in the lowlight, but now that he was up close and personal, Leorio could see that the man's face was covered in hundreds of thin, threadlike needles. 

At the castle, the prince is a ghost of his former self. Kurapika looks pallid, even sickly. He blindly wanders the palace corridors, out of focus and out of touch with his surroundings. He ambles past Prince Chrollo and Hisoka; they stop their conversation to watch him.

“It’s my fathers failing health that ails him” explains the Prince

“Of course” replies Hisoka, doubtful, but enjoying the show.

He had every right to worry, apparently, because the king died later that night. Before the following dawn, Prince Chrollo and Prince Kurapika were married.

The main square of Florin is now packed tighter than ever before. Children sit on parents shoulders, elbows jab into ribs and toes step on other toes. It’s a tight squeeze. On the balcony, prince, now King Chrollo stands before the crowd. It was time for his subject to meet their new king.

“My father’s final words were “love him, as I had loved him”. My people, I present to you your new king, King Kurapika.

Just like before, Kurapika emerges from an archway. A crown made from the rarest jewels sits atop his head. His dress is similar to that from before, except now it is covered entirely with lace and the bodice is encrusted with diamonds. He is resplendent. The crowd, just like before, is in awe of his beauty. They all fall to their knees. All, except one.

“Boo! Boooo!” an old woman shouts. She looks wisen beyond her years. Her clothes are raggedy, and her hair looks unwashed, greasy and tangled. She is a stark contrast to Kurapika’s youth and beauty.

“ why do you boo?” says kurapika in disbelief

“Because you had true love in your hands, and you let it slip in between your fingers!” snarls the old hag.

“But they would have killed him if I had not intervened!” argues Kurapika

“Your true love lives yet you marry this, this, this pig! True love saved him from the fire swamp, and he treats it like garbage! And that’s what he is, the King of refuse,” the old woman looks with contempt at the crowd, “Bow if you want to. Bow to the King of rot, the King of filth, the King of grime! Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Boo! Boo!”

The crowd begins to join her in her chant. They slowly approach Kurapika, torches lit and pitchforks in hand.

“Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Rubbish! Filth! Sli-”

Kurapika wakes up in a cold sweat, alone in his bedroom. It is ten days till the wedding. The king still lived, but Kurapika’s nightmares had grown worse. He frantically grabs a robe and rushes to Chrollo’s office. He finds the prince reviewing documents with the advisor Hisoka.

Kurapika clears his throat “I love Leorio, I always have and I always will. If we are to marry in ten days, then you must know that I will be dead by morning”

The Prince is quiet. He glances at Hisoka, then back at Kurapika. He gets up from his desk, and makes his way towards his fiance. When he takes Kurapika’s hands in his, he finally, softly, begins to speak.

“I could never cause you grief, consider our wedding day off” he turns to Hisoka, Kurapika’s hands still in his “you returned this...Leorio, was it? To his ship?”

“Of course your majesty” Hisoka’s tone is surprisingly serious, but his smile remains serene.

“Well, then we will simply have to alert him” Chrollo turns back to Kurapika, and rubs his thumbs over the others knuckles soothingly, “Beloved, are you certain he still wants you? After all, you did leave him in the fire swamp”

Kurapika stiffens at this. Did Chrollo know about his dreams?

“Leorio knows that my actions were out of love. He will come back to me” he replies with resolve.

Chrollo looks conflicted, then he smiles. “I suggest a deal. You write four copies of a letter. I'll send my four fastest ships. One in each direction. The Dread Pirate Roberts is always close to Florin this time of year. We'll run up the white flag and deliver your message. If Leorio wants you, bless you both. If not…” his hand gently cups Kurapika’s cheek and strokes it softly, “please consider me as an alternative to suicide. Are we agreed?”

Kurapika removes Chrollo’s hand from his face, but remains eye contact and nods.

“Thank you, Prince Chrollo, I am forever grateful I shall return to my chambers now”.

Kurapika bows and leaves. He is in a better mood than ever before and his heart leaps at the thought of being reunited with Leorio again.

Chrollo and Hisoka remain quiet until they are sure the prince is out of earshot. Hisoka is the first to break the silence.

“You picked quite a winning creature, if I do say so myself. Very determined that one. Brave too, I might add. I can see why you like him so much” 

“Oh I know. The people are quite taken with him as well. It’s odd, you know? When I first hired Illumi to murder him, I though I was very clever, ” Chrollo smiles. There's a sadistic gleam in his eye. “but it’s going to be so much more satisfying when I strangle him and carve out his eyes on our wedding night. I did some research and apparently they go for quite a pretty penny. Florin will be outraged, of course Guilder will be to blame, and then I have an excuse to declare war.”

“You are a sick man, Prince Chrollo” Hisoka grins, “I’ve always admired that about you. I’ll leave you to your wedding preparations”

Hisoka goes to leave, but stops at the doorway. He looks over his shoulder as if he just remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, I’m on my way to the pit. Leorio’s got his strength back. I am starting him on the machine tonight. Care to join?” His tone is inviting and sadistically gleeful.

“I do love to watch you work…” Chrollo sighs in disappointment, “But, I've got my country's five hundredth anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my husband to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I'm practically swamped”

Hisoka tuts, “you really work yourself too hard, your majesty”

Chrollo sighs again, wistfully this time.

“I really do don’t I,” he waves his hand in a shooing motion, “but I’ve taken enough of your time, you may leave”

Hisoka bows and turns to leave.

“Oh, and Hisoka?”

Hisoka stops at the doorway and spins around to face his prince.

“Yes, your highness?”

Chrollo smiles, “remember to have fun”

Hisoka chuckles, “Oh, I always do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is sooooo much fun writing these sadistic bastards. While I hate both of these characters in the show I absolutely adore writing their dialogue. Quick question, how many of you have seen the princess bride before? Ik most of you have, but I've seen at least a couple of comments suggesting some haven't. For those of you who haven't I highly suggest you watch it. It is one of my all time favorites and my fic really doesn't do it justice. I think it's on Disney+ tho so you might have to bootleg it, sorry :(


	10. The Pit of Despair pt.2: electric boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: brief descriptions of torture, nothing too visceral tho. can you believe we are more than halfway done with the movie? I can't

Hisoka stands in the middle of a grove. He does a quick check of the peripheral to make sure he hasn’t been followed. Satisfied, he approaches a tree with an obscenely large knot in the middle of its trunk. He presses on it, and from the trunk a staircase leading underground is revealed. Hisoka grins eagerly and hurries down the stairs as the trunk slides perfectly back into place. He could barely contain his excitement. Finally, he gets to play with his new toy.

“Ah leorio! How nice to see you again. Tell me, how has the pit been treating you?” asks Hisoka as he makes his way down the stairs.

“Oh it’s been wonderful. Truly a five star operation you got going on here” Leorio replies sarcastically.

But if Leorio’s being completely honest, his time in the pit of despair hasn’t been that bad . His injuries were treated, he’d been given three meals a day and water to drink, and the man with the needles (Leorio calls him pincushion. Not to his face of course) was a surprisingly good conversationalist. Overall, he’s been treated fairly well. That is, if you ignore the fact that he’s been chained to a wooden slab for three days straight and the threat of torture loomed over his head. 

His train of thought is interrupted as Hisoka moves the wooden slab towards some sort of structure. It's big, practically reaching the ceiling. Tubes, wires, wheels, lever and all sorts of things stick out from the apparatus. Leorio has no idea what this thing does, but if was a betting man (and he was), he’d put good money on this thing being the infamous machine. 

Hisoka practically looms over Leorio, “I'm sure you've heard of my deep and abiding interest in pain. At present I'm writing the definitive work on the subject. So I want you to be totally honest with me on how the machine makes you feel. Since this is our first time using it, we need a control. And that,” Hisoka boops Leorio’s nose “is where you come in! We’ll start off with one, might one day go as high as five. Don’t know what that would do to you, but I for one, can’t wait to find out”

Pincushion places a suction cup on Leorio’s head, his stomach, his heart, his ears, his hands and his feet. He says nothing, keeps control of his reactions. He’s sure the clown gets off at the slightest whiff of fear. He steals himself for the worst.

Leorio refuses to make a sound, he’s sure the clown would get off on it anyways. So he bites his lip. Hard. The machine is just at level one and Leorio feels like he’s going to pass out. The sensation of having your life force sucked out of you is beyond unpleasant. It feels like someone is ripping out your nervous system through your fingertips while simultaneously vacuuming off patches of skin. Leorio is nearly blinded by the pain and almost blacks out, but that would have been a mercy. Hisoka doesn’t show mercy. 

After what feels like hours, but was probably only thirty seconds, Hisoka stops the machine. Leorio gasps for air like a fish out of water. He hadn’t realized it before, but he was holding his breath. Hisoka walks over to a table and opens a book. Ink and quill are at the ready.

“Let’s begin, shall we? What did this do to you? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity, so be honest” hisoka smiles, “how do you feel?” 

Helpless, Leorio cries. 

Hisoka sets pen to paper, engrossed in his work but still clearly enjoying the other’s anguish. 

“interesting”

Back at the palace, Chrollo sits before a rather large pile of paperwork. He wasn’t kidding before when he said he was swamped. However, the paperwork can wait. There were more important things that needed to be taken care of.

Chrollo calls into the hall “Tonpa!”

A tan, rotund man with a pleasant smile enters. Your average fool would have mistaken him for a nice man. Chrollo, however, was no fool. Chrollo didn’t hire nice people, and Tonpa was just conniving and sadistic enough to land the job. 

Tonpa bows before he enters and kneels at the prince’s feet.

“Sire”

Chrollo beckens him over and leans in close “As Chief Enforcer of all Florin, I trust you with this secret: killers from Guilder are infiltrating the Thieves' Forest and plan to murder my fiance on our wedding night”

Tonpa furrows his brows, “my spy network has heard nothing of the sort”

Oh, for such a clever man, he really was stupid.

Chrollo raises a brow “are you questioning me?”

Tonpa blanches in fear, “N-no sire, nothing of the sort!”

“Good. My Fiance cannot be murdered. As a precaution, I want you to empty the Thieves' Forest and every inhabitant arrested”

Tonpa again goes white, not out of fear but rather at the prospect of work. “Many of the thieves will resist. My regular enforcers will be inadequate”  
Chrollo rolls his eyes, “Then form a brute squad! I want the Thieves Forest emptied before I wed”

“As you wish, sire” Tonpa’s knees pop as he stands up, “just so you know it won’t be easy”

Chrollo is back at his paperwork, clearly exhausted “try ruling the world sometime”

Tonpa was correct. When the day of the wedding arrives, the brute squad has their hands more than full. There's a lot of hollering going around. Houses are ransacked, shacks are destroyed, and fires are being hastily put out. men are forced into cages while others are pushed into walls with their hands tied around their back. In the midst of all the chaos, Tonpa is shouting orders. A brute approaches with news.

“What is it? Is everybody out?” demands Tonpa

The brute nods “almost. There’s this kid that's been giving us some trouble”

Tonpa jabs at the man’s chest “well, then you give him some trouble! Move!”

Well, orders are orders. The brute returns to the hovel of the child that refuses to move. Outside, surrounded by hundreds of chocolate wrappers, a young boy with fluffy white hair sits and bounces his knee impatiently.

“C’mon Illumi. You said this is where we would meet up if a job went south” he mutters

The brute approaches “Ho there!”

Killua rolls his eyes “ keep your “ho there”. I ain’t moving”

“But the Prince gave orders-”

“The prince can shove those orders up his ass. I’m waiting for someone. I’m staying”

The brute rolls his eyes in frustration. Suddenly, he spots a coworker.

“Hey, come over here! I need some help” he shouts

“I told you i’m waiting for someone-”

“Yeah c’mon man, don't ruin the fun!” 

Killua feels a hand on his back. He quickly spins around. He gasps.

“It’s you!”  
Gon smiles back “True!”

Killua is so in shock that he doesn’t notice the brute rushing forward to club his brains out. Without breaking eye contact, Gon shoots out a fist and punches the brute squarely in the jaw. Like being shot out of a cannon, the brute flies backwards and lands with a thud.

Killua’s brain can’t keep up with his mouth, 

“Wow, that was hot”

Gon scrunches his eyebrows in confusion “what?”

Killua blushes “Nothing! U-um, anyways, what are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you! I originally went back to the cliffs, but you weren’t there. Then, I remembered Illumi told us to meet back here if anything went wrong and viola! Here you are!” Gon pauses and puts his hand to Killua’s forehead, “Killua are you alright? You don’t look so good”

“I’m fine! Really!” Killua swats Gon’s hand away from his face, blushing harder.

Gon eyes the candy wrappers on the ground. 

“Killua...how many chocolate robots have you eaten?” 

“Pfft, not that many. It’s not like I’m going to crash-” as if on cue, the young boy falls into his friends arms, asleep. 

Finally, Gon and Killua were united. Gon took Killua back into the hut and laid him down to rest. Once he woke up, Gon told him about Illumi’s disappearance and of a peculiar man he saw in the forest earlier, a man with needles in his face and six fingers on his right hand.

Killua shot up “What?!”

“Yep!” Gon popped the p “ I trailed him for a bit and I saw him head into the Prince’s castle”

Killua jumped out of bed, “we’ve got to go!”

“But the castles guarded by thirty men!”

“I don’t care, I’m going!”

“Killua-”

“Don’t try and stop me!”

“Killua!” shouts Gon, and that grabs Killua’s attention. Gon had never raised his voice at him before. Without thinking, Gon grabs his hand.

“I would follow you to the ends of the earth, but I am not letting you walk into a deathtrap just so you can get your revenge! We need a plan!” Gon sighs in exasperation, “I don’t like seeing the people I love get hurt. So let’s take a deep breath, sit down, and think of a strategy”

Killua is stunned, not by his friend’s harsh words, but by something else.

“....you love me?”

Gon blushes brightly; he’s still holding Killua’s hands. 

“U-um, I-I-I...yes, yes I love you,” Gon bows his head so he doesn’t have to look in Killua in the eye, “...Is that a problem?”

When Killua doesn’t do or say anything, Gon is confused. He looks up to gage Killua’s reaction. When he does Killua recovers from the shock and dives in and kisses him. This kiss is short and sweet, barely even a peck, but it leaves Gon breathless anyways.

“Does that answer your question?” Killua mumbles into his shirt, clearly embarrassed. 

Instead of answering, Gon gets Killua into a tight hug, picks him up and spins him around the room. He is grinning like a maniac, but he can’t help himself! Aunt Mito always said actions speak louder than words, and Killua had a whole speech hidden in that kiss.

“Gon! Gon! Put me down! We need a strategy, remember?” Despite his protests, Killua is smiling and blushing furiously.

Gon finally puts him down. He smiles sheepishly, “Sorry, forgot,” he strokes his chin in thought “I’m not much of a strategy guy”

Kilua furrows his brows “yeah, me neither. That was Illumi’s job…” Killua snaps his fingers, “I’ve got it!”

“What?”

“The man in black! That’s why Illumi disappeared! He must have outsmarted him and Illumi was too embarrassed to come back! If he can outthink Illumi, he can plan a castle onslaught. C’mon let’s go!”

“Where?”

“To find the man in black, obviously!” Killua is at the door but he turns around, “you can sniff him out, right?”

Gon closes his eyes and tries to remember what the man in black smelled like. Sea salt, sweat, and cheap cologne. He takes in a deep whiff. He opens his eyes. Gotcha. 

“You bet!”

Killua is practically buzzing with excitement, “then what are we waiting for, lets go!”, 

he turns around and exits the building.

"there will be blood tonight" he murmurs to himself. it's not just a statement, it's a promise.


End file.
